Dead Eyes: Interview with Eric Rembecki

Dead Eyes are not a lifeless blank stare. They are the wide awake challenge demanding a new direction. By calling out society’s norms, they are a loudspeaker of reform. Honest, direct, and positive, their single “American Nightmare” stands as a guiding lighthouse for the directionless. Shockwave received the opportunity to ask bass guitarist, Eric Rembecki, how they came to be the voice of reason.

Shockwave Magazine: How did you meet and decide to collaborate?

Eric Rembecki: We as a group have been together for quite sometime. We originally performed together as Vital Signs before we started Dead Eyes.

Who came up with the concept for your music video “American Nightmare?”

Alex Runk (vocals) came up for the concept of the song a few years ago. The director Alex Koustavos and Alex Bolton (guitar) did an amazing job developing the storyline to the video. We really wanted to display unity and everyone eventually coming together as one. We were so happy with the end result.

You’ve said the theme of “American Nightmare” is connected with your band name, can you tell us about that?

“American Nightmare” and Dead Eyes speaks to a state of complacency that we as a country have found ourselves in. There is a lot of unease at how things have developed over the past few decades. Social media being such a driving factor in our generation and have people coming together like never before.

The mixing in the single is incredibly unique, and somewhat addicting to listen to, will we hear more of that in your upcoming EP?

Guess you will just have to buy it when it’s released to find out.

Can we expect your EP to have a political theme or will it branch in other directions?

We definitely want to touch on a lot of different subjects that all of us can relate to on a personal level. “American Nightmare” was just the tip of the iceberg.

What do you want your fans to know about the message in “American Nightmare?”

That we in today’s generation do not have to live with the current state our country is in. We can be the change and start a revolution. It starts with you.

Watching the making of your music video, it seems like Alex Bolton is always up to mischief. How do you keep him on task?

He actually is very professional, like the rest of us. But, we all know how to work and play at the same time. Which I think really helps us bond as brothers. He’s definitely a breath of fresh air.

Who takes lead on writing lyrical content?

Our vocalist, Alex Runk, definitely takes the lead. His versatility when it comes to writing is tremendous. I can personally relate to almost every song he writes and love it. Our co-producer Rob Endling helped out developing the structure of the lyrics as well. When those two come together, it always ends with something amazing.

Do any of you have personal rituals to start a day of creativity? How do you work around each other’s quirks?

We’re all creative in our own ways and we each feed off of that. When something comes together, it doesn’t happen unless we’re all on board.

Have any of you adapted new habits from the others, good or bad?

We try to bring nothing but positivity when we all come together. Which indeed helps us achieve both short and long term goals.

How has Dead Eye’s challenged you as artists? Have you grown from working together?

It was indeed challenging to start. We switched up our sound a lot from our past projects. It was a decision we were happy to make and couldn’t have done it without our producers, Curt Martin and Rob Endling, at Bloodstone Studios. They really helped us redevelop our sound and helped make everything come together and we couldn’t be happier. They’re great dudes and we love every minute we work with them.

No matter the subject, Dead Eyes, can deliver their message with clarity and hope. Check out their new video and wait with me eagerly for their upcoming EP.